Coursera couple returns to higher ed; A $12 million podium

News and insights for edtech industry and business leaders

No. 505 | October 14, 2020 View in Browser Subscribe to this newsletter » Innovate Edtech insights for decision makers This issue is brought to you by This past long weekend began with World Mental Health Day on October 10, and wrapped up with a celebration of the indigenous cultures that have called America home long before any Europeans did. In between, we've taken to heart the wisdom that self-care is often the best care one can invest in. This week, we revisit the stories that remind us of the ways in which taking care of ourselves and others can bring about enriching, reassuring and diverse experiences, especially during these troubled times. For These Native American Girls, Coding Became the Language to Discuss Mental Health Computer science isn't just about zeros and ones. It can enable new ways of communicating, creating and problem-solving. A group of middle-school girls in North Carolina, all members of the Lumbee Tribe, used their newfound coding skills to shed light on a taboo topic in their community: mental health. Empathy Isn't Enough: Power Imbalances In Edtech Must Shift Online learning is increasingly used to boost cross-cultural education and value-sharing. But because many dominant sources of knowledge production—especially digital—lie in the West, online learning can reinforce global inequality. Virtual Signs of Serious Mental Health Problems: A Teacher's Guide to Protecting Students Delivering education in a remote setting makes it more critical than ever to monitor students' mental health. But how do you do that with a screen separating teacher and pupil? A psychologist lays out the signs and red flags to look for. Turn the Page: Looking Beyond the Textbook for Culturally-Responsive Curriculum Creating a culturally-responsive curriculum goes far beyond factual accuracy. It requires engaging students across different cultural learning styles and guiding them toward independent thinking. And perhaps most importantly: it "can't be delivered by an algorithm any more than it can by a static textbook." The Next Pandemic: Mental Health After the health and economic crises, a mental health pandemic is looming on the horizon. The emotional wellbeing of children and adults at stake during COVID-19 has "exacerbated the urgent need for massive investments in mental health." KA'CHING! BACK TO COLLEGE: Parents watch in dismay as their kids struggle with remote learning. So parents build tech to make the experience more engaging. Sound familiar? No—we're not talking about Blackboard co-founder Michael Chasen and ClassEDU. But another team with edtech industry cred is back on the scene. Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller and her husband, Dan Avida, just raised $14.5 million in their return to higher education. Here's a peek at what they're building. A RAISED PODIUM: With the pandemic squeezing budgets, programs that save colleges money and equip students with in-demand skills as more jobs go remote and digital may seem very appealing—at least to investors. Podium Education, an Austin, Texas-based startup that helps universities launch for-credit tech programs, has raised $12 million in a Series A round. Here's what it's doing. Other Deals: Churchill Capital Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), has agreed to acquire Skillsoft, a provider of corporate training courses, in a deal worth approximately $1.3 billion. They will then purchase IT training provider Global Knowledge Training for $233 million. The combined company will retain the Skillsoft brand and be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. GetSetUp, a San Francisco-based provider of online educational classes for older adults, has raised $10 million in an investment round led by ReThink Education. Other investors include AME Cloud Ventures, Work Play Ventures, Sweat Equity Ventures, David Ko, John Danner, Dan Rosensweig, Jeff Alter and Bradley Horowitz. Kahoot, a Norwegian-based provider of a gamified educational platform, has raised $215 million from SoftBank via a private placement. SoftBank now has a 9.7 percent stake in the company. The following is a message from our sponsor Help your edtech product stand out from the pack With so many edtech options in the marketplace, educators can feel overwhelmed when trying to find reliable information about which tools were designed to support each learner's unique needs. Differentiate your product from the field by applying for Digital Promise's Learner Variability product certification. Follow your EdSurge writers @tonywan, @jryoung, @stephenoonoo, @ByEmilyTate and @becky_koenig for the latest news and scoops as they hit the wire. And, of course, @EdSurge! ON THE PODCAST GET OUT THE VOTE: Research shows young citizens are motivated to vote. But they don't always make it to the polls. Why not? To find out, we interviewed Sunshine Hillygus, political scientist and co-author of the new book "Making Young Voters." She shares surprising insights about what kind of K-12 and higher education actually influences youth voting behavior. Hint: It's not civics class. JUST ONE CHART Source: 2020 State of Computer Science: Illuminating Disparities CRACKING THE CODE: "Black or African American female students took 7.5% of AP computer science exams taken by all female students (and only 2.2% of all AP CS exams), despite making up 15% of the female student population." By contrast, Asian participation in this exam surpasses their makeup of the overall U.S. student population. This is just one of many discrepancies illustrated in a new report, co-authored by Code.org, the Computer Science Teachers Association and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance, that looks at how participation in CS classes and exams differ by race, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall, 53 percent of U.S. high schools currently do not teach computer science. JOIN THE CONVERSATION Let it grow: In spite of the many changes 2020 has brought, it's more important than ever for district leaders to promote a growth mindset. Join this panel discussion to hear from district administrators how they are supporting their teachers and staff in the new normal. Sign up today. Events horizon: Can't wait for this year to be over? Education industry conferences are announcing plans for next year. Among the latest changes: Ohio Educational Technology Conference, set for Feb 9-11 in Columbus, is shifting to virtual. We've added a 2021 tab to our tracker of U.S. education industry events. MOVERS & SHAKERS Nina George has been appointed senior vice president of growth and marketing at BrainPOP, a New York-based provider of digital instructional resources. Mads Rebsdorf has been appointed chief revenue officer of Kahoot, a Oslo, Norway-based provider of a gamified learning platform. Jim Shelton has joined the board of directors of Duolingo, the Pittsburgh-based language-learning app developer. ALSO ON OUR RADAR Many K-12 districts are still waiting for Chromebooks and computers they ordered months ago. "North American schools are still likely to end the year with a shortage of more than five million devices." (The New York Times) Remind, a developer of a K-12 communication app, has launched a math tutoring service for students. With poolside classrooms, "children concierges" and in-person tutors, "remote schooling is the new first-class hotel perk." (The Wall Street Journal) The U.S. education sector has lost about 355,000 jobs since February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Yahoo) Sponsored by Zimperium For schools relying on Chromebooks for remote education, students, teachers and administrators face the same privacy and security threats associated with laptops and mobile devices, without the same security measures. Download Zimperium's "Top 5 Risks Facing Students (& Schools) on Chromebooks" infographic to learn about the cybersecurity risks and how to keep your students and school secure. Looking for a job in edtech? You've come to the right place. EdSurge has the leading edtech jobs board with over 400 openings from schools, nonprofits and companies. Post a Job See all edtech jobs Account Manager CodeHS CodeHS is looking to hire an Account Manager to help manage and renew customer accounts. Sales • Startup • Chicago, IL or Remote Account Executive CodeHS Help bring computer science education to more schools and districts by joining the sales team at CodeHS! Sales • Startup • Multiple or Remote Customer Service - Technology Support Specialist Cyber High Cyber High, an online provider of high school courses serving schools throughout California, seeks an experienced EdTech customer/technical support advocate for our team. Teleworking position: Applicants must reside in CA. Customer Implementation / Customer Success • Government • Remote Senior Manager, Support Experience Reforge Inc Reforge is hiring a Senior Lead, Support Experience to join our team. Reporting to the Head of Program Operations, this position will play a pivotal role in helping Reforge deliver an exceptional participant experience from end-to-end. Customer Implementation / Customer Success • Startup • San Francisco, CA or Remote Account Executive BoostMySchool ​Want to be responsible for the end-to-end selling process – from the first call to onboarding? BoostMySchool, a growing B2B SaaS startup helping schools fundraise better, is looking for an AE to join our team that values trust & impact. Sales • Startup • Remote Manager of Data and Visualizations Charter School Growth Fund CSGF seeks a Manager of Data and Visualizations who will work closely with the other members of the Analytics Team to oversee portfolio data, maintain the storage and dissemination of the data, and build reports that visualize and summarize the data K12 School Operations • Non Profit • Multiple Events Post an event • See all events and meetups The Standards and STEM Working towards effective STEM learning means gaining a deeper understanding of the future we aspire to build, and having the ability to imagine this future. Dec 15 • Online • Free Thanks for Reading ➔ Got any feedback? We love hearing from readers. Shoot us a note, critiques, a joke—whatever you've got! ➔ Interested in reaching our readers? Sponsor this newsletter. ➔ Event planners: Feature your event on our calendar & newsletters. EdSurge informs, drives conversation and builds communities to support the future of learning for all. Tips? Email us at feedback@edsurge.com Manage Subscription Copyright © 2011-2020 EdSurge. All rights reserved. Mailing address: 621 SW Morrison Street, Suite 800, Portland, OR 97205

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